A typical alternating-current surface-discharge panel used as a plasma display panel (hereinafter simply referred to as “panel”) has a large number of discharge cells that are formed between a front plate and a rear plate facing each other. The front plate has the following elements:                a plurality of display electrode pairs, each formed of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode, disposed on a front glass substrate parallel to each other; and        a dielectric layer and a protective layer formed to cover the display electrode pairs.        
The rear plate has the following elements:                a plurality of parallel data electrodes formed on a rear glass substrate;        a dielectric layer formed over the data electrodes to cover the data electrodes;        a plurality of barrier ribs formed on the dielectric layer parallel to the data electrodes; and        phosphor layers formed on the surface of the dielectric layer and on the side faces of the barrier ribs.        
The front plate faces the rear plate so that the display electrode pairs three-dimensionally intersect with the data electrodes, and these plates are sealed together. A discharge gas containing xenon in a partial pressure ratio of 5%, for example, is charged into the sealed inside discharge space. Discharge cells are formed in portions where the display electrode pairs face the data electrodes. In a panel having such a structure, a gas discharge generates ultraviolet light in each discharge cell. This ultraviolet light excites red (R), green (G), and blue (G) phosphors so that the phosphors emit the corresponding colors for color display.
A subfield method is typically used as a method for driving the panel (see Patent Literature 1, for example). In the subfield method, one field is divided into a plurality of subfields, and light emission or no light emission of each discharge cell in each subfield provides gradation display. Each subfield has an initializing period, an address period, and a sustain period.
In the initializing period, an initializing waveform is applied to each scan electrode, and an initializing discharge is generated in each discharge cell. This initializing discharge forms wall charge necessary for the subsequent address operation in each discharge cell.
In the address period, a scan pulse is applied sequentially to the scan electrodes (hereinafter this operation also being referred to as “scanning”). Address pulses corresponding to the signals of an image to be displayed are applied to the data electrodes (hereinafter, these operations being also generically referred to as “addressing”). Thereby, an address discharge is selectively caused between the scan electrodes and the data electrodes, to selectively form wall charge.
In the subsequent sustain period, sustain pulses corresponding in number to a luminance to be displayed are applied alternately to display electrode pairs, each formed of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode. Thereby, a sustain discharge is selectively caused in the discharge cells where the address discharge has formed wall charge, and causes the discharge cells to emit light. In this manner, an image is displayed.
The plurality of scan electrodes are driven by a scan electrode driving circuit, the plurality of sustain electrodes are driven by a sustain electrode driving circuit, and the plurality of data electrodes are driven by a data electrode driving circuit.
Further, a plasma display device where the scan electrode and sustain electrode forming a display electrode pair are interchanged alternately in each electrode pair is proposed (see Patent Literature 2, for example).
Recently, the inter-electrode capacitance in a panel has been increased as increases in the screen size and definition of the panel are promoted. The increase in the inter-electrode capacitance increases reactive power, which makes no contribution to light emission and is ineffectively consumed when the panel is driven. Thus the increase in the inter-electrode capacitance is one of the causes for increasing power consumption. In the panel having the electrode structure disclosed in Patent Literature 2, the voltage in adjacent discharge cells can be changed in phase with each other, and thus the reactive power can be reduced.
However, it is found that a phenomenon of electric charge transfer from one to the other of adjacent discharge cells that have scan electrodes disposed side by side (hereinafter the phenomenon being referred to as “crosstalk”) occurs in a panel having the electrode structure of Patent Literature 2. It is also found that this crosstalk can cause an abnormal sustain discharge. Such an abnormal sustain discharge degrades the image display quality.